Gypsies of Mahabalipuram

This series chronicles my time with the Gypsy population in Mahabalipuram (Mamalapuram) India, a small beach town in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It begins with the photos I took from a distance, before making contact. Slowly my friends and I build relationships with them, particularly Jodika and her family.

The first time I saw the Gypsies they were huddled where the beach meets the end of the road. The boy with the suitcase and the naked boy with the red cord around his waist stood out. I knew then they were Gypsies (a sub-culture of transients operating on the fringes of society.) They make semi-permanent homes, often moving based on the season.

Jodika, a nine year-old gypsy told me "I want my father not to drink, to not be around fights and for my house to be clean. I want nothing else to make me happy. …It would be very nice if my mother were here. I want that more than anything else.” This is a portrait of her mother, who died of Tuberculosis when Jodika was only a few years old.